The Florida Plumber Guide

Florida regulates plumbing contractor work through DBPR/CILB, with certified statewide licenses and registered local-jurisdiction licenses. Counties and municipalities may issue plumbing journeyman licenses when the person meets exam and apprenticeship or 12,000-hour experience requirements. Verify the county journeyman process, contractor-license tier, and whether the employer or sponsor is tracking hours under a registered apprenticeship.

1. Florida certified construction contractor licenses are statewide. (Source: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&boardid=06; verbatim: “Certified licenses are statewide and allow you to work as a contractor anywhere in Florida.”)

2. Florida registered construction contractor licenses are limited to local jurisdictions where the holder has a certificate of competency. (Source: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&boardid=06; verbatim: “Registered licenses are limited to certain local jurisdictions and only allow you to work in the cities or counties where you hold a certificate of competency.”)

3. Florida's DBPR construction contractor application center lists Plumbing as a construction contractor license category. (Source: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&boardid=06; verbatim: “Plumbing”)

4. Florida defines a plumbing contractor as a contractor whose services are unlimited in the plumbing trade. (Source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/489.105; verbatim: ““Plumbing contractor” means a contractor whose services are unlimited in the plumbing trade”)

5. Florida counties and municipalities may issue journeyman licenses in the plumbing trade. (Source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/489.1455; verbatim: “Counties and municipalities are authorized to issue journeyman licenses in the plumbing, pipe fitting, mechanical, or HVAC trades”)

6. Florida counties and municipalities must recognize a plumbing journeyman license issued by another Florida county or municipality. (Source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/489.1455; verbatim: “must recognize a person as a journeyman in the plumbing, pipe fitting, mechanical, or HVAC trades”)

Registered apprenticeship oversight in Florida runs through Florida Department of Education, Office of Apprenticeship (no URL on file).

Florida's construction contractor statute names DBPR as the department for this part.